Anecdotes from drivers who regularly use the highway appear to have been supported by Revenue NSW data, which showed a 30-fold increase in fines on the road south of Wagga between October and January.

The number of infringements within Wagga's suburbs also increased during the same period, but at nowhere near the same rate, hitting a total of $99,000 in fines per month.

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When asked if there had been a deliberate policy to have mobile speed cameras vehicles spend more time on highways rather than Wagga's urban arterial roads, Transport for NSW acting deputy secretary for safety, Peter Dunphy said it was random.

"Mobile speed camera enforcement is randomly rotated across available, approved locations, which are chosen based on a number of criteria, including crash and trauma history," Mr Dunphy said.

"This means that the amount of enforcement hours at any location varies from month to month and there will be differences in the numbers of drivers detected speeding.

"This is consistent with an anywhere, anytime approach to enforcement that is unpredictable. Unpredictability is important to deterring speeding across our road network."

During October 2021, mobile speed cameras recorded just three infringements at locations along the Olympic Highway south of Wagga, for a total of $700 in fines.

The next month the figures skyrocketed 102 infringements and more than $26,700 in total fines.

The numbers increased again in December with 110 infringements for a total of more than $35,300 in fines, before dropping back to 91 infringements worth $27,300 in fines during January, which was the latest month of data available from Revenue NSW.

Henty's Railway Parade saw the most fines issued over the four-month period, at 202, followed by 67 fines on the Olympic Highway through Yerong Creek.

Wagga-based Nationals MLC and long-time critic of hidden mobile speed cameras, Wes Fang, said it was better to have speed enforcement outside of built-up areas.

"Deploying those cameras in residential streets is, I believe, more entrapment than anything else and it is better that they are out in those high-speed areas where you are more likely to have black spots," Mr Fang said.

Mr Dunphy said all NSW speed camera programs have been monitored annually since 2012, and have been found to consistently deliver safety benefits.

"Research shows that a one kilometre per hour decrease in travelling speed would lead to a 2-3 per cent reduction in road crashes," he said.

The NSW government is expected to increase the number of mobile speed camera enforcement locations over the coming months, which will reduce how many times each location is used.

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